


TCOT Compromised Counselor

by Sadaralo



Category: Perry Mason (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-21
Updated: 2014-09-21
Packaged: 2018-02-18 07:05:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2339525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sadaralo/pseuds/Sadaralo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hamilton Burger's personal life gets turned upside down when his girlfriend becomes the main suspect in her best friend's murder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Man Can't Live By Work Alone

It had been a grueling and frustrating day in the courtroom, but then it almost always was when Los Angeles District Attorney Hamilton Burger had the misfortune of having to take on Defense Attorney Perry Mason. Mason’s “courtroom theatrics” as Burger called them were barely legal and totally maddening.  Maddening because they almost always worked and possibly also because Burger couldn’t quite bring himself to try anything so deceptive and manipulative.  Things were very black and white in Burger’s world.  He was a man of strong convictions and extremely focused.  Perhaps too much so or else he might see more of the possibilities and avenues that Mason did.

 

Burger’s main interest was justice so he didn’t begrudge Mason any of his victories. In no way did Burger want an innocent person sent to the gas chamber so if Mason pulling the carpet out from under him in the courtroom was necessary to send the right person to prison then Burger was all for it.  However, it still rankled him slightly to be on the losing end of these cases so often.  He was beginning to wonder if he was starting to look incompetent to his peers.

 

Despite the long day at the office, a tired Burger was still looking forward to the evening out that he’d planned with girlfriend, Alexandra Mullen. He entered Marchand’s, his gaze sweeping across the room, looking to see if she’d beat him there.  He found her in a booth in the far corner, sipping some coffee; and slid into the seat across from her.  Taking her hand, the blonde, bright blue eyed attorney stroked the back of it with his thumb and smiled at her in that soft, genuine way that rarely showed except for when he was with her.  It certainly never made an appearance in the courtroom.

 

“The place was crowded tonight so I decided to cash in the reservation as soon as I got here,” Alexandra said with a smile. I’m sorry; I know I usually wait for you, but I’m starving tonight and didn’t want to hang out any longer than I had to.” 

 

She pushed back a lock of her own shoulder length, champagne blonde hair and tucked it behind her ear. It drove her crazy when her hair got in her face, particularly when she was trying to eat.  Alexandra was about average height for a woman, curvaceous, and she had a pretty face, but she was hardly glamorous and definitely a bookworm.  Most men might have overlooked her, but Burger had crossed paths with at a friend’s gathering and had been drawn to her intelligence and wit.

 

“Hey, no worries, baby. I’m with you; it’s way passed supper time.”  Burger looked up as the waitress, seeing that there was now an additional person at the table, arrived to take his drink order.  He glanced over at Alexandra and noted the coffee and decided to have that as well.  Inwardly, he was beginning to wonder if something was up.  Alexandra was known to enjoy wine or champagne with meals regularly, but the last few times they’d been out she hadn’t touched the stuff, even when he’d ordered a bottle.  And while she’d never been a smoker, she hadn’t been made ill by the suffocating smoke that seemed to qualify as air until the last few weeks.

 

The waitress returned with his coffee a few minutes later and disappeared into the crowded restaurant after Burger announced that they still needed a few minutes to look at the menu. The couple was silent for a time as they studied the menu.  Burger was a decisive man so it wasn’t long before he set the menu back down at the edge of the table where the waitress could easily reach it and waited patiently for Alexandra to do the same.  In the background, the myriad conversations of other diners, some boisterous, some hushed; and the clinking of silverware and dishes penetrated the attorney’s thoughts.  He suspected he knew what was accounting for the changes in his girlfriend’s behavior the last few weeks, but even though they’d been together for just over a year, he felt it might be rude and insulting to ask when she hadn’t said anything.  Perhaps it was nothing.  Surely she would have said something if there was.  He was never right in the courtroom anymore with Perry Mason on the scene so no reason to believe he had any insight into the behavioral changes of his own girlfriend.  Still, it nagged at him…

 

Giving their order to the waitress who had appeared at their table again, almost out of nowhere, Burger waited until she’d vanished again before looking Alexandra straight in her own aqua blue eyes.

 

“Alex, is there something you need to tell me?” Burger asked in his customarily blunt fashion.

 

She took another sip of her coffee and averted her eyes. “What do you mean, Hamilton?”  She had tried to sound as casual as possible, as if her love was simply being silly and imagining things, but instead she just sounded nervous.

 

His eyes widened at the telling body language and he bit back an exhale of frustration. Getting information out of women was like pulling teeth most of the time.  Ironically, Alexandra could usually be counted upon to be rather blunt for a woman.  This time though didn’t appear to be one of those times. This time it was more like trying to extract direct answers from a hostile witness.

 

“I mean the fact that you haven’t had a drop of alcohol in the last three weeks which is hardly usual for you. And the fact that I haven’t been able to light up a cigarette around you for nearly the same period of time without sending you running outside for fresh air.  And now you can’t look me in the eye when I ask you about it!”

 

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Burger remembered that they were in a public place and his voice had a bad habit of carrying. He forced himself to simmer down.  He wasn’t angry with her.  Not yet.  Just frustrated and impatient that he wasn’t just getting a straight answer.  He looked around somewhat sheepishly, only to realize that there were also people he knew having an evening out as well.  His courtroom nemesis, Perry Mason and his secretary were at a nearby table, but Burger couldn’t tell at the moment if the duo had spotted him yet.  Likely not or else Mason would have wandered over to say hello.

 

The exasperated man focused back on his girlfriend. She was quite a bit younger than him; in her early 30’s, but she was a successful marriage and family therapist, which at the moment also struck him as ironic as they seemed to be having a failure to communicate themselves.  However, Alexandra would be the first to tell him that it is far easier to advise someone else about their problems than it was to fix your own.  He would have to concede her point on that one.

 

“Hamilton,” she pleaded.  “Can we please discuss this after dinner?”

 

“No, we can’t discuss this after dinner. I want to know what’s going on?  Are you pregnant, Alex?”

 

The pretty blonde’s breath caught in her throat at that and she hesitated a moment before finally nodding and whispering a barely audible “yes.”

 

Burger leaned back against the back of the booth and let out a deep breath as he digested the news. So it was what he had suspected, but the news changed the complexion of their relationship entirely.  This had been by no means planned by either of them and having a child out of wedlock was still considered a societal no no that could have consequences for their careers.  Marriage was almost certainly on the horizon now even though the longtime district attorney wasn’t quite ready for that.  In his younger days, he had imagined himself having a family and children, but it hadn’t happened then.  Now in his 40’s he felt a tad too old to start now.  Fate however, was dropping it in his lap, ready or not.  He had to admit though that there was an undercurrent of joy and excitement about the coming baby.  He loved Alexandra and the prospect of being a father after all appealed to him even if the circumstances and time in his life weren’t the most favorable.

 

“Hamilton?” Alexandra prompted softly.  A counselor by nature and profession, the silence bothered her.  She was impatient to know what he was thinking and whether or not they were going to be alright as a couple in light of the unexpected pregnancy.

 

Taking her hand again, Burger smiled warmly, allowing the happier emotions to bubble to the surface despite the worries and challenges ahead. “I’m thrilled that I’m going to be a father, Alex, but you do realize that this means we’re going to have to get married whether we’re ready for that or not?”

 

“I know,” she nodded with a bit of disappointment creeping into her voice. “This wasn’t what I’d had in mind either.”

 

They leaned back from each other again as their food arrived on the table. Picking up his fork, Burger pondered their situation some more.

 

“Let’s enjoy our supper and give this a day or two to sink in and then we’ll make some decisions.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

A few tables over, Della’s eyes widened as she recognized the district attorney, Hamilton Burger across the way with his girlfriend. They had met her several times, either out and about with Burger or even out in the professional realm as Alexandra sometimes had to testify if one of her clients was involved in a criminal case.

 

Della cocked her head in the direction of the other couple. “Perry, your best friend is out and about tonight as well it turns out.”

 

Mason looked over and his eyebrows knitted together in concern. “You’re right and they both look rather distressed about something.  I hope everything is alright.”

 

“He’s been dating her for a while now. It’s probably the usual things that crop up when a couple gets too comfortable with each other.”

 

“Hopefully it’s nothing serious,” Perry nodded, returning to their original conversation. Perhaps he’d check in with Burger a bit later just to be sure.

 


	2. Out and About

As it happened, Burger had business with Mason the following Monday regarding the current case due for preliminary hearing that Tuesday. Mason didn’t enjoy prying into the personal lives of others unless it was necessary for a case he was working on.  At times though, concern could prompt him to gently nudge someone to talk.

 

“One more thing before you go, Hamilton,” Mason said as the district attorney rose from his chair.  He leaned forward slightly, fingers laced together on the desktop.  “I don’t mean to pry, but is everything alright between you and Alexandra?  Della and I saw the both of you at Marchand’s on Friday night and things looked a little tense from where we were sitting.  Anything you want to talk about?”

 

Burger dropped back down into the chair as if all the energy had been sucked out of him. So the inimitable Perry Mason had spotted them the other night; and while Mason was no private detective, Burger had lost enough courtroom battles to the man to know better than to try to bullshit him.  Digging around in his coat pocket for his pack of cigarettes, Burger borrowed Mason’s lighter and fired one up.  The first drag was slow and deliberate as Burger pondered how he wanted to respond to that.

 

“She’s pregnant, Perry,” he said finally. “Unexpectedly, I might add. She told me over dinner Friday night.”

 

Mason blinked in surprise. The raven haired lawyer hadn’t been sure what he was expecting, but for some reason it certainly hadn’t been that.  While Burger had never won a case against him thus far, Mason knew that he had an admirable track record against others over the course of his career.  He was a very diligent and prepared prosecutor.  Mason had to admit he found this somewhat surprising, but then life got away from everyone at some point in their lives.

 

Burger tapped off the ashes from his cigarette into the ash tray and stood up. He moved to the window and looked out.

 

“It’s fine. I want the baby and I’m thrilled to become a father finally, but…,” the older man trailed off as he studied the scene below on the street.  It was nearing lunch time and people were making their way into the various restaurants nearby. 

 

“But… it changes things,” Mason finished.

 

“You know how society is, Perry. Children out of wedlock is still frowned upon so this pregnancy puts marriage on the map a little sooner than I was planning on.  I love Alexandra, but now instead of popping the question properly, it’s “Wow, I’m sorry I did this to you, baby, but how about I make it up to you at the courthouse down the street?”  It just sucked all the romance right out of it.”

 

Mason regarded the other man thoughtfully. “Looks like you’ll need to get creative then, Hamilton.  I’m sure you can figure something better out before the baby gets here.”

 

Burger chuckled ruefully. “I suppose you’re right, Perry.  Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me this time.  Thanks.  Well, I should be getting back to the office.  I’ll see you in court tomorrow.”

 

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Mason replied with a smirk. “And congratulations.”

 

“Thanks, Perry.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

With Burger working late that night, Alexandra decided to spend some time with her best friend and colleague, Ruby Avery. They stopped for a quick dinner out and then made their way over to the theater for a movie.  On their way in, a young man stopped Ruby for a moment to say hello. 

 

“Oh, hello, Bobby!” The dark brown haired, brown eyed Ruby greeted the young man with a warm smile and introduced him to her best friend.  “Alex, this is one of my clients, Bobby Mackey.”

 

The sandy blonde haired Bobby inclined his head politely at Alexandra Mullen.

 

“A pleasure to meet you, Bobby. I hope Ruby here has been helpful to you,” Alexandra said pleasantly.

 

Bobby smiled enthusiastically, his green eyes lighting up as he fidgeted impatiently. “Oh yes, ma’am!”

 

“Well good,” she replied, then turned back to Ruby. “We should probably get seated.”

 

“Well, I’ll see you around, Ms. Avery,” Bobby said before scurrying off across the parking lot to join a couple of friends who were waiting for him at their car.

 

Alexandra couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something seemed off about the young man. He seemed a little too excitable and fidgety.  She forcibly reminded herself that she was drawing conclusions without justifiable cause.  Ruby obviously thought he was safe enough to introduce her to him and she was his counselor.  Gut feelings were important to listen to, but sometimes one could be overly paranoid too.  She hung back a moment, lost in her thoughts, and shook her head to clear it when Ruby called her name from a few feet ahead.

 

“Of course,” Alexandra said softly and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.  I guess I got lost in my thoughts again.”

 

“Does Hamilton ever get on your case for thinking too much?” Ruby teased as they wandered to the back of the theater where they could sit higher.  They slid into the two seats closest to the aisle for an easy exit.

 

“No. And given our current situation, he’d be liable to tell you that lack of action isn’t something I could be accused of,” the young blonde chuckled ruefully.

 

“Touche.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

After the movie, the two friends parted company and Alexandra made a quick trip home before heading over to Burger’s place. He had asked her to join him after he’d finally gotten off of work.

 

Burger greeted Alexandra at his door and pulled her into a close embrace as she entered. They stood there for a moments, just enjoying the physical closeness and the silent support of each other.  Finally, the district attorney reached out to push the door closed as he released his love.

 

“Long day at work?” She asked.

 

“You could say that,” Burger replied, not going into details. He brushed his fingers against her middle lightly, curious about their unborn baby.  “How are you feeling?”

 

She took a deep breath. “A little tired and nauseous, but otherwise fine.  Just don’t light up a cigarette in here and I should be alright.”

 

Burger wandered into the kitchen in search of some non alcoholic beverages for the both of them and returned with a few sodas. He handed one to her and gestured for her to sit with him.  He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and was rewarded with her head against his shoulder.  They remained silent for what seemed like an eternity until finally Alexandra couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

 

“So what next, Hamilton?”

 

“Next is you should probably move in and then we plan for marriage soon.”

 

She chuckled. “Just like you to cut straight to the heart of the matter.”

 

“I always attempt it in my line of work, but it doesn’t always work out that way,” he said with amusement and a fair bit of smugness. “Perhaps I’ll have more success here.”

 

“Perhaps,” she agreed with a smirk of her own. “Alright. I’ll start moving my stuff over during the weekend.”

 

Neither one could imagine how much more complicated their lives were going to become before the weekend even arrived.


	3. Another Day at the Office

A few days later, the same young man, Bobby Mackey was just exiting his weekly session with his counselor, Ruby Avery when Hamilton Burger entered the building. He nodded politely to Ruby and casually proceeded down the hall to Alexandra’s office.  They had made lunch plans and like the gentleman he was, arrived to pick her up.

 

Bobby Mackey watched the district attorney disappear in the room before scowling darkly. “He’s the district attorney, isn’t he?”

 

Ruby frowned at her client’s dark expression with concern. “Mr. Burger?  Why yes he is.  Is something wrong, Bobby?”

 

“Yeah, there’s something wrong!” The young man said, his light green eyes still glaring daggers down the hall.  “That’s the guy that got my older brother, Johnny convicted of murder and sent to prison for life.”

 

“Well I’m sure that’s possible,” Ruby said. “I understand how upsetting it must be for you, but your brother did have a fair trial.  The DA was just doing his job.”

 

If Bobby scowled any longer or harder, Ruby feared that expression might become a permanent fixture on his boyish face.

 

Ruby continued toward the entry to the building and regarded Bobby with growing concern. “We can certainly discuss your feelings on the matter next week if you’d like.”

 

Bobby nodded and opened the door. “Thanks, Ms. Avery.  I might.  I’ll see you next week then.”

He pulled the door closed behind him and made his way to his car, but he didn’t drive off immediately.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

“Guess who I saw today?” Bobby said grumpily to his older brother, Tim after he arrived home and entered the den. The two young men were in their early twenties.  They were both in college at the local university and so still lived at home with their parents. 

 

“No clue,” Tim said, looking up from his studies. “Why don’t you tell me so I don’t have to play twenty questions.  I get enough of those in my homework.”

 

Bobby leaned against the side of the desk and looked down at his brother with a scowl. His brother’s lack of a sense of humor was maddening at times.  It had been that way since their oldest brother, Johnny had been locked up for life.

 

“I saw Mr. District Attorney himself when I was coming out of my session with Ms. Avery today. He’s apparently rather cozy with a friend and colleague of Ms. Avery.”

 

Tim’s eyes widened at that. “Hamilton Burger?  Are you certain?  What did you see?”

 

“Well, Ms. Avery and I were exiting our session when Mr. District Attorney entered the building and vanished into Ms. Mullen’s office. Knowing it was almost lunch time, I waited in my car to see if they came out; and sure enough, I caught them heading out to his car, looking all lovey dovey.”

 

Tim snorted. He had absolutely no idea where his baby brother was going with this.  Sure they were both upset by the fact that Johnny had been sent to prison for life, but what the DA did with his private life was none of their business.  Tim couldn’t imagine why Bobby cared about this so much. 

 

“So what’s the big deal, Bobby? His private life is none of our business and ruining it won’t get Johnny out of jail.  Just let it go.  And me, so I can get back to my studies.”

 

“Yeah sure, Johnny,” Bobby mumbled disappointedly as he retreated from the room. Tim could be such a passive fellow and it was a trait that frustrated Bobby to no end.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

The following evening, Alexandra was just finishing up her client notes for the day when Ruby Avery tapped on the slightly cracked open door to Alexandra’s office. Alexandra looked up and smiled.

 

“Just a head’s up,” Ruby smiled back. “I’m going to be staying late to work on that article for that psychology journal I mentioned last week so don’t wait up for me.  And don’t worry about locking up.  I’ll do that when I leave.”

“Sounds good. I’m glad you caught me because I was just finishing up actually.  I’m going to run home and get out of my work clothes and then go over to Hamilton’s.  We have so much to talk about these days.  Maybe we’ll rediscover fun one of these days,” the blonde chuckled as she locked her file cabinet and retrieved her coat and purse.

 

Ruby laughed and waved as she exited Alexandra’s office. “Alright then.  Have a good night.  Try not to have too much fun.”

 

Alexandra exited her office and pulled the door shut behind her. She didn’t bother locking the door usually because any confidential client information she kept locked in her file cabinet when she wasn’t in the office. 

 

The front desk clerk, Evelyn was locking her own cabinets and drawers as Alexandra passed by. “Good night, Evelyn.  See you in the morning.”

 

Evelyn smiled. “Good night, Ms. Mullen.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Alexandra arrived at work earlier than usual the next morning. It was something she did a few times a month to accommodate a particular client’s schedule.  She opened the door to her office, trying to ignore the morning sickness that was starting to expand passed the nausea she’d experienced with second hand smoke to pretty much the smell of anything in general.

 

Taking a few steps in, she hunted in her purse for the keys to her file cabinet. Finally locating them, she pulled them from her the dark recesses of her purse (she swore the thing was a black hole) and finally looked up and gasped in shock and horror.

 

Her best friend and colleague, Ruby Avery, was lying dead on the floor.


	4. Search For Motives

Hamilton Burger arrived at the scene shortly after the aging, but still tenacious Lieutenant Arthur Tragg. The longtime DA found Tragg grilling Hamilton’s girlfriend, Alexandra about the situation.  Alexandra, though still quite shaken from the shock of her discovery, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Hamilton and they shared a brief hug before he too started asking questions.

 

“I was just telling Lt. Tragg about how I came in early this morning and found Ruby laying on the floor of my office, dead. She had said she was staying at work late last night so I had left before her.  I stopped at home to change my clothes and then went over to your place.  Only other person who left after I did was Evelyn.  When I came in for my early client this morning, this was how I found Ruby.”

 

Hamilton looked at the scene around him incredulously.  It was currently a madhouse in the building with cops, detectives, medical personnel, and other necessary workers milling about the scene, performing their respective duties.

 

“The medical examiner places the time of death at approximately 6:00 pm last night,” Tragg stated plainly. “The clerk, Evelyn Walsh, departed here about 5: 30 and she has alibi around the time of death.  Her husband was able to verify that she had arrived home about 5: 50.”

 

Hamilton exhaled and regarded Alexandra seriously.  “You said you left before Evelyn did?”

 

Alexandra nodded. “Yes, that’s right.  Evelyn saw me leave.”

 

Tragg nodded and looked over at Burger. “And you didn’t see Alexandra until nearly 7: 30, is that correct?”

 

“That’s correct,” the taller man said. “But Alexandra wouldn’t do a thing like this, Tragg!”

 

“Can anyone verify that you were back at your apartment or somewhere else besides here at the time of the murder, Ms. Mullen?”

 

Alexandra shook her head, dejectedly. “No one that I’m aware of.  I didn’t pass anyone in the lobby or the halls on the way up to my apartment.”

 

“Tragg, you can’t seriously think Alex did this?! Why?!  She has no motive!  They were best friends!”  Burger was starting to get agitated and excited and it was clear to Lt. Tragg that he was too emotionally involved in this to remain objective.

 

Tragg nodded. “That is true.  Right now we haven’t been able to establish a motive.  However, we have no one else pinned as a suspect at the moment either and we weren’t able to find any fingerprints on the murder weapon other than Alexandra’s.”

 

“If the murder was premeditated, the culprit could have worn gloves, especially if he or she was intent on framing someone in the victim’s workplace,” Burger insisted, desperate to find some other explanation. Not that it was hard at the moment.  Despite the fact that most signs pointed to Alexandra because of the location of the murder and the fact no one could give her an alibi, Tragg hardly had an airtight case yet because he lacked a motive for Alexandra to murder her best friend.

 

Despite the gravity of the situation, Tragg couldn’t help but chuckle with genuine amusement at Burger’s vehement defense of Alexandra. He couldn’t blame the hapless DA in this case, but he was beginning to sound just like a defense attorney.

 

“My my, Hamilton, you’re sure starting to sound a lot like Perry Mason this morning.  And just a word to the wise, you might want to consider removing yourself from this particular case.  Conflict of interest and all that just in case I’m in the unfortunate position of having to take Alexandra into custody.”

 

Tragg went on his way, retreating back into Alexandra’s office where the most activity was still taking place, leaving the worried couple to their own devices.

 

“Come on,” Burger said quietly, taking Alexandra by the elbow and leading her out the door. “We’re going to see Perry Mason.  Tragg doesn’t have an airtight case or he would have taken you in already, but I still want you to have the best defense lawyer in town just in case.  Preparation is half the battle in these things.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Defense attorney, Perry Mason listened quietly as Alexandra recounted her story for what seemed like the millionth time that morning.

 

“And Tragg has no motive yet?” Mason asked.  “What about your pregnancy?  Had you told Ruby or any of your other colleagues?  And does Tragg know about it?”

 

“I haven’t told Tragg yet, Perry,” Hamilton said.  “I trust the guy but I wanted to wait until after Alexandra and I had some things worked out, like a wedding date.”

 

Alexandra leaned back in her chair and exhaled worriedly. “I did tell Ruby and a few other colleagues in the office.  I felt I had little choice because a few of them had noticed that I’d been feeling consistently unwell the last month.”

 

The young woman frowned in confusion. “I understand that having a child out of wedlock is still considered inappropriate by current societal norms and can be damaging to one’s reputation, but surely Tragg wouldn’t see that as a motive for murder.”

 

Mason laced his fingers together on his desktop and regarded Alexandra seriously. “I’m afraid he could very well see that as a motive for murder; especially since you and Hamilton both have otherwise decent reputations and careers that could be damaged if word gets out before you two have married.  It also may be all he has to go on unless another suspect and motive can be produced.”

 

Mason’s eyebrows knitted together in thought. “The law permits for therapist/client confidentiality to be breached when certain legal issues present themselves.  Would it be possible to have a look at your client files and Ruby’s?”

 

“You suspect it may have been a client who killed Ruby?”

 

“I certainly can’t discount the possibility, especially when many of those individuals have psychological issues to start with. I’m also curious if anyone in that office or among the clients had any reason to dislike you or Ruby enough to do something like this.  Whoever killed Ruby either happened upon her in your office for some reason and that was just as good a place as any or intended to make certain it looked like you were the culprit.  Can we go back to your office now?”

 

“Absolutely,” Alexandra said, standing.


	5. Puzzle Pieces

Mason had decided to bring his secretary, Della Street along for the extra manpower.  He wasn’t certain exactly what they’d be looking for in the files or how long it would take to find it, but he had a feeling they’d know it when they saw it.  While the bright blue eyed Mason couldn’t deny that people had been murdered for lesser things than gossiping about a colleague’s unexpected pregnancy, his instincts told him that someone else was behind this particular killing.  Burger wasn’t always the best judge of character in the courtroom, but the people around him had noted that the irascible district attorney was rather picky about the women he dated.  Stranger things had happened, but Mason couldn’t see Burger falling in with a woman that would do something like this. 

 

The building and small offices inside were deserted when the three of them arrived. This had been expected given that client appointments and other activities had been rescheduled for the week while the investigation was going on.  Alexandra let them in with her key, but refrained from going through the files except to unlock the pertinent file cabinets under Mason’s supervision.  The criminal defense lawyer didn’t want her touching anything that might further incriminate her.  If there was another explanation in these files, Mason and Della would find them.

 

Della had spent about twenty minutes going through the files of Ruby’s last day of appointments. She’d noticed some rather interesting client notes on a Bobby Mackey from the day prior to the murder.

 

“Chief, have a look at this,” the dark brown haired Della said as she held out the client file. Mason looked up and took, regarding it curiously.

 

“Ms. Avery had been counseling a young man whose older brother had been prosecuted by Hamilton.  The brother had been found guilty and sent to prison for life,” Della continued.  “Ms. Avery mentions in her notes that Bobby had expressed a concerning amount of anger for our illustrious district attorney when Hamilton came to visit Alexandra just as Bobby and Ruby were finishing a session.  Think it’s worth something?”

 

“I think it’s worth a great deal,” Mason said, thoughtfully. His nimble mind was already racing through the possibilities.  “Angry young man whose older brother is sent to prison for life.  He bumps into the district attorney who prosecuted the case and notices said attorney is involved with a pretty young woman.  What better way to get revenge than to frame the girlfriend and have someone Hamilton loves sent to prison for life.  Ruby and Alexandra may be innocent casualties in a revenge plot against Burger  Thank you, Della.  This may very well be what we’ve been looking for.”

 

“Alexandra?” Mason called out into the hall. “Could you come here please?”

 

Alexandra Mullen arrived in the doorway to the late Ruby Avery’s office after a few seconds. “Yes, Mr. Mason?”

 

“Did you by any chance hear a young man say anything to Ruby about the time Hamilton came to visit you for lunch the other day regarding Hamilton prosecuting his older brother in a murder case?  Or did Ruby mention anything to you about it?”

 

Shaking her head, Alexandra frowned. “I didn’t hear anything like that at all.  And unless Ruby required a consult, she would be bound by counselor/client confidentiality so she likely wouldn’t say anything to me about it if he had.  Evelyn might have overheard something like that though if Ruby’s door was open or if Ruby and the client had already come out into the hall after session.”

 

Mason nodded, his expression thoughtful again and he turned to his secretary again. “Della, have Paul pay Evelyn Walsh a visit.  We need to know if she heard young Bobby Mackey express any displeasure with Hamilton Burger and what was said if she had.”

 

“Right away, chief,” Della said, already reaching for the phone.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

The three of them returned to Mason’s office where Mason was lost in thought. He was certain he was on to something, but proving it was another matter entirely.  No other relevant  fingerprints or identifying items had been found on the murder scene.  That could easily be explained by the use of gloves, but still… the burden of proof was on Mason.

 

He was shaken out of his analysis, but a knock on his door.

 

“Come in,” Mason called out. The defense lawyer remained stoic and calm even though it was Lt. Tragg who had come calling and this time the usually smug old man didn’t look so smug for once.  In this case, that wasn’t a good thing. 

 

“Lt. Tragg,” Mason greeted the longtime homicide detective. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

 

“There’s no pleasure in this, Mason; not this time. I have a warrant for Ms. Mullen’s arrest with the charge of first degree murder.”

 

Mullen’s aqua blue eyes widened in dismay, but otherwise she remained her characteristically calm and collected self. If Mason was able to prove Alexandra innocent, he realized that her calm could eventually rub off on Burger and do him some good.

 

“So you found a motive, Lt. Tragg?” Mason was curious what Tragg had discovered so he could figure out how to fight it.

 

“I don’t mind telling you that I’m rather annoyed that I had to hear of Burger’s coming child by some counselor I’d never met before, but apparently he and Alexandra are going to be parents. And given that they aren’t married and both have reputations to protect, it’s not a stretch of the imagination to believe Ms. Mullen here wouldn’t be moved to murder someone to keep them silent.  People have been murdered for less than a reputation.”

 

Mason buried his hands in his pockets, looking as relaxed and composed as ever. “If that’s the case, why didn’t she attempt to kill all of her colleagues who knew?”

 

“Lack of opportunity? Perhaps they were next on the list?  Ms. Mullen did know that Ms. Avery would be staying at work late that night so it wouldn’t be difficult to plan the whole thing.”

 

Mason regarded Tragg for a moment. He was curious if Tragg had implicated Burger in the whole thing given that the district attorney also had a vested interest in protecting his own reputation; but if Tragg wasn’t willing or able to go there yet, Mason certainly wasn’t about to put the idea in his head.

 

He looked back over to Alexandra. “It’s alright.  Go with Lt.  Tragg.  I will be down to visit you soon.”

 

Alexandra nodded and reluctantly joined the officer that had accompanied Tragg. She followed him to wait outside the door for the homicide detective.

 

Tragg hung back for a moment, concern rather than the characteristic smugness etched on his face. “I do hope that we’re wrong this time, Mason; and that you can prove this girl innocent.  “I’ve worked with Hamilton a long time and I don’t want what this will do to him.”

 

“I’ll do all I can,” Mason replied seriously.

 

Della joined Mason where he was still standing beside his desk, watching the door shut behind the silver haired Tragg. She touched his arm comfortingly and Mason’s own strong hand covered hers with a gentle squeeze.  The two of them had grown closer over the last few months and this situation with Hamilton Burger and Alexandra Mullen had gotten Mason considering the pros and cons of longterm relationships.

 

“Della, get Paul on the phone again. We need to find out what’s going on with Bobby Mackey and if he’s involved in all of this.”


	6. Carelessness

Since he was waiting for a report from his detective, Paul Drake, Mason decided to accompany Tragg to visit Hamilton Burger after the odious task of booking Alexandra Mullen. Tragg had warned Burger that the arrest was coming out of respect for the younger man he’d worked with for so long now.  Tragg though was rather miffed that he’d been nearly dead last to find out about a certain relevant aspect to this case that had provided a motive.  If Tragg hadn’t known Burger to be a better man than that, he might have wondered if Burger was in on it; that is if Alexandra was guilty in the first place.  Still, Burger hadn’t told him about the baby…

 

They found Burger at his apartment. It was neat and tidy; a tad spartan though, much like Burger himself.  The normally uptight, upstanding district attorney had apparently decided to overindulge on this particular occasion.  He was halfway through a bottle of whiskey and what appeared to be a new pack of cigarettes.  Mason and Tragg looked at each with concern as they entered the apartment.

 

The three of them exchanged the usual niceties, but it was clear that Lt. Tragg couldn’t wait to interrogate Burger about why Burger hadn’t said anything to him about becoming a father.

 

“Do you know what that looks like now?!” Tragg said incredulously. “If I had any evidence that you could possibly be implicated with Alexandra, you’d be right down there next to her!”

 

“He knows, Tragg,” Mason said softly, hoping to calm Tragg down. It was unusual to see these two so downtrodden and emotional.  Or at each other’s throats.  Even seeing them lose case after case to him, Mason had never seen such defeated body language among either one of them.

 

Burger took a long drag off his half finished cigarette and exhaled a large smoke plume into the living room.

 

“I just found out Friday night myself, Tragg!” Burger said with frustration and thinly concealed anger.  “Granted, Alexandra and I aren’t exactly proud of ourselves for being in the situation we’re in, but we weren’t trying to hide it from you.  I felt it was best to refrain from saying anything until she and I had made some decisions first.  For obvious reasons, it was harder for her to conceal it from her friends at work.”

 

Tragg let out a soft sigh. “I- I’m sorry, Hamilton.  It just works against you two right now and I’m not thrilled about that.”

 

“I know, Tragg. Don’t worry about it, okay?  I’m sure Perry will pull a rabbit out of his hat again somehow.”

 

Mason smiled a bit smugly at that, though he felt no amusement at the circumstances. “I’ll do my best, Hamilton.  Are you going to be alright tonight?”

 

“I’ll be fine, Perry. Don’t worry about me.  It’s Alexandra who needs you right now.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Mason arrived back at his office to find Drake waiting for him, cigarette in hand as usual.

 

“So I talked with Evelyn Walsh again. She did overhear this Bobby Mackey kid tell his counselor, Ruby Avery that Burger was the district attorney who prosecuted his older brother’s case and had him sent to prison.  She had been sitting at the front desk when Burger arrived and Mackey and Avery exited Avery’s office.”

 

Mason smiled slightly. “Alright.  I’ll make arrangements to have Mackey called as a witness.  Tying him to the crime though…  Keep watching Mackey, Paul.  I need something more concrete than a theory.”

 

“You got it,” Drake said as he rose from his chair and disappeared in a hurry.

 

Della strolled in a few minutes later with take out. “No rest for the weary, I take it?” She chuckled as she set up the table near the window quickly.  And yes, you’re eating before you run off to your next adventure.”

 

“You’re always thinking of me, Della. And who said anything about a next adventure?”  He smiled in that innocent way he had.

 

“Uh huh,” she said, giving him a knowing smirk as she finished laying out dinner. It had gotten to be a habit for them to eat practically all meals at work anymore.

 

“Della, you’ve gone all out this time. What’s the occasion?”

 

This time it was Della who smiled innocently. “Does there have to be an occasion, Perry?”

 

“No, I suppose not,” the stocky man said as he helped her with her chair and then sat down across from her. He regarded Della for a long moment.  The long hours working together day in and day out had made her a steady, comfortable, and trustworthy companion.  There were days though when Mason felt that given how much of their personal lives they sacrificed for their work that it wouldn’t hurt to become romantically involved themselves.  The amount of time they spent in each other’s company practically guaranteed it would happen sometime.  But then he thought about the hell that Burger was going through right now and wondered if he could successfully navigate the treacherous emotional waters of enduring something like that with Della involved.

 

He wanted for both he and Della to be happy. It was a conundrum that made his head hurt.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

The next morning Drake reappeared in Mason’s office.

 

“Already?” Mason smirked.

 

“Already,” Drake confirmed seriously. “I followed Mackey last night.  I tracked him right back to the building that Avery’s body was found.  He was searching the parking lot and around the building for something.  If he’s the culprit, he might be looking for something he’s missing and thinks now that the fuss had died down he can look for it.  Fortunately, I got to it before he did.  I think.”

 

Drake handed over a small black address book. “I can’t say for certain that’s what he was looking for, but it was the only thing that seemed to be worth retrieving.  I found that in the grass just outside Alexandra’s office window.”

 

Mason took the address book and flipped through it. “It looks like it might be Alexandra’s, but I’ll have to ask her.  And Mackey didn’t see you looking around there.”

 

“I doubt it. I was stuck at a red light for a few minutes, but when I caught up to him at the building he was searching near the front door.  Whatever it was he was looking for, I didn’t want him finding it so he could get rid of it so I pulled into the parking lot and the kid greeted me and pretended to not realize the office was closed.  He went back to his car and took off.  I didn’t see him swing by again.”

 

Della frowned thoughtfully. “Why would he even think to go back there though?  Even to look for something?  Wouldn’t he have assumed with all the investigations going on there recently that something he’d lost there would have already been found by someone else?”

 

“Hope?” Mason pondered thoughtfully. “Hope that if it had been lost outside it might have been overlooked since all the action took place inside Alexandra’s office.”

 

“But Alexandra herself could have lost that address book.” Drake said. “I don’t know for sure that is what the kid was after.”

 

Mason smiled enigmatically. “I’ll just have to ask Alexandra then.  Thanks, Paul.”


	7. Preliminary Hearing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Making believe Drumm has a brother who was a prosecuting attorney. I hadn't gotten very far into the post Tragg seasons when I wrote this so had a little name confusion about who exactly Drumm was.

The preliminary hearing was scheduled to begin the next day at 10am. Alexandra took the seat on the inside of her defense attorney, Perry Mason. Della Street took the seat to the left of her.  Behind her, Hamilton Burger sat to watch and unfortunately also to testify if necessary.  His expression was grave and the lines in his face seemed deeper somehow, as if the stress of the situation was aging him by the minute.  Still there was hope in his bright blue eyes; Alexandra couldn’t tell if it was hope in general or if he was simply trying to be strong for her.  Burger reached for her hand and whispered some words of encouragement as the judge entered the courtroom.  The usual formalities were dispensed with and the preliminary hearing got underway.

 

Burger looked over to the right of Perry Mason to find that Drumm was filling in for him as the prosecutor in this case. Tragg was in his usual spot to the left of the prosecutor.  Lt. Tragg was the first person called to the stand as he was needed to provide the pertinent details of the murder scene to the court.

 

Drumm approached Lt. Tragg, all business as usual and expected.

 

“Lt. Tragg, can you describe for us the details of the murder scene?”

 

“Well, we were notified by phone about the murder after the body was discovered. Upon arrival, we discovered the victim, Ruby Avery laying face down on the floor of the defendant’s office.  She’d been beaten over the head several times with a heavy bookend.  The medical examiner approximated the time of death to be 6:00pm.”

 

Drumm stepped away from Tragg long enough to secure what was identified as the murder weapon and presented it to Tragg. “Do you recognize this, Lt. Tragg?”

 

Tragg nodded. “Yes, that bookend has my mark.  It was identified as the murder weapon used to kill Ruby Avery.”

 

“You and your men searched and fingerprinted the room, including the murder weapon, correct?”

 

With uncharacteristic reluctance, Tragg nodded again, knowing full well where this was headed. “Yes.”

 

“And whose fingerprints did you find on the murder weapon?” Drumm asked, already knowing the answer.

 

“The defendant’s, Miss Alexandra Mullen’s,” Tragg replied.

 

“And no one else’s?”

 

Tragg shook his head. “No, sir.”

 

Drumm stepped away from Lt. Tragg again and nodded to Perry Mason. “I have no further questions.  You may cross examine, Mr. Mason.”

 

For once, Lt. Tragg actually seemed visibly relieved to being cross examined by the legendary criminal defense attorney. He smiled ever so slightly, hoping that Mason would once again find a way to prove the prosecution wrong.

 

“Now, Lt. Tragg, you said that Alexandra Mullen’s fingerprints were the only prints found on the murder weapon and in the room?” Mason asked, though the question was mostly rhetorical.

 

“Yes, that’s correct.”

 

“Given that it belonged to Alexandra Mullen and was found in Ms. Mullen’s own office, would that be surprising?”

 

Tragg shook his head. “No, it wouldn’t.”

 

“So given the certainty that the defendant had touched that item any number of times in the past, the possibility that someone else could have handled the murder weapon with say, a pair of gloves, can’t be entirely ruled out?”

 

Drumm appeared as if he wished to object, but the question seemed legitimate enough. It was certainly true that Alexandra’s fingerprints on the murder weapon alone did not necessarily indicate guilt.  Given she owned the item, it was to be expected that her fingerprints would be on it.

 

“It cannot,” Tragg admitted.

 

“And who made the call to report the murder?”

 

“The defendant,” Tragg replied. “Alexandra Mullen.”

 

“Thank you,” Mason said. “That will be all.”

 

The judge dismissed Lt. Tragg from the bench and Evelyn Walsh, the secretary employed by Ruby Avery and Alexandra Mullen took the stand. She was a slightly overweight woman in her 50’s, but very professional in her manner of dress.

 

“Now, Mrs. Walsh, you are employed by the defendant and her associates, is that correct?” Mason asked.

 

“Correct.”

 

“Did you ever notice any discord between Alexandra and Ruby?”

 

Evelyn shook her head firmly. “Never.  They had been good friends and colleagues for several years.”

 

Mason nodded. “Now on the night of the murder Ms. Avery had told you and Ms. Mullen that she would be working late that night and that she’d lock up after she left?”

 

“Yes, that is correct.”

 

“And you saw Ms. Mullen leave the building?”

 

“I did. She left a few minutes before I did; around 5: 30pm or so.  I saw her drive off just as I left the building,” Evelyn elaborated.

 

Mason knew there were a few holes the prosecution could poke in this, but he needed to establish as much doubt as possible.

 

“Did you lock the front door from the outside when you left?”

 

The graying middle aged woman shook her head negatively. “I did not.  Ms. Avery had said it was alright for me to leave the door unlocked as she might run out to her car at some point after we left so I did as she wished and left the door unlocked.”

 

“So it’s possible that someone could have just waltzed right in the front door after you left?” Mason confirmed.

 

“It’s possible.”

 

Mason smirked slightly, though he realized the prosecution would have a legitimate point to make on that score as well. He would deal with that when presented with it.

 

“Now Mrs. Walsh… the day before the murder, did you overhear part of a conversation that Ms. Avery and a client were having as they exited her office?”

 

“Why yes, I did,” Evelyn nodded.

 

“Would you tell the court what you heard please?” Mason framed it like a question, but Evelyn Walsh knew that she had no choice but to answer.  It bothered her somewhat because everyone in the building was supposed to protect client privacy and maintain confidentiality.  Still, Alexandra’s freedom and even life were on the line.

 

“A young man, Ms. Avery’s last appointment of the day, became bitterly angry upon seeing Ms. Mullen’s significant other enter the building. Something about that man being responsible for prosecuting his older brother and having him sent to prison for life.”

 

“I see,” Mason said. “And do you know the name of the young man who said that?”

 

“Yes, sir. Bobby Mackey.  He’s been a client for some time now.”

 

“Thank you, Mrs. Walsh. Your witness, Mr. Drumm.”  Mason retreated back to his own table and resumed his seat next to his client to listen to Drumm’s cross examination of Mrs. Walsh.  He was fairly certain where Drumm was going to poke holes in Mason’s examination, but he wasn’t overly concerned about it.  With Mackey there to testify to what he said, Mason was confident he was going what he was looking for.

 

Approaching the stand, Drumm looked quite smug, having ferreted out the gaping holes in Mason’s examination. It was almost too easy Drumm thought, and wondered what sort of trapp Mason was springing for him this time.  He almost looked upon Burger with some sort of reverence and awe at how the district attorney so tenaciously went up against Mason time after time in the face of such odds.

 

“Mrs. Walsh, is it unusual for the counselors to leave for dinner and then return to the office to work late?”

 

“I rarely work that late so I can not say for certain what their activities are when they remain at work late,” Evelyn said firmly.

 

“But they do work late?” Drumm prodded.

 

“Occasionally, yes. Most of the time they let me know when they do so I am aware if I need to lock the building or not.”

 

“Including the defendant, Ms. Mullen?”

 

“Yes,” Evelyn admitted reluctantly.

 

“That will be all,” Drumm said with a nod.

 

The judge excused Evelyn Walsh and proceeded to recess the hearing until 2:00pm.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

The hearing resumed after lunch. Alexandra Mullen looked over at her attorney, Perry Mason with confusion and concern after Hamilton Burger had been called to the stand.

 

“Why Hamilton?” She whispered to Mason as she leaned in.  “The counselors knew about the pregnancy so the prosecution shouldn’t need Hamilton to testify to it.”

 

Mason leaned toward her. “His angle may be to imply that the two of you of feared the repercussions to your reputations and careers if it came out prematurely and suggest it as a motive for murder.  You need to remain calm and silent no matter how much pressure Drumm applies to Hamilton up there. Hamilton knows what he’s doing.”

 

Alexandra gave him a look to suggest such nonsense as ludicrous but said nothing further and turned back to watch Drumm badger Burger.

Drumm was in none too happy a mood about this odious little task either. Along with Lt. Tragg and others in this courtroom, he’d worked around the district attorney for some years; and Drumm derived no more pleasure in this case than anyone else did.

 

“Mr. Burger, do you know the defendant?”

 

Burger was poised on the witness’ stand as confident as ever, or at least, was convincingly projecting the image as such. He knew he could be easily excitable at times and had reminded himself several times this morning to remain as calm as possible.  Appearing defensive and emotional would only add fuel to the prosecution’s fire.

 

The district attorney glanced over at Alexandra Mullen for a moment and then back up to Drumm. “I do, sir.”

 

“How well do you know Ms. Mullen?”

 

Drawing in a shallow, silent breath, Burger forced the information out, trying very hard not to resent the questions he knew would be put to him now. “She and I have been romantically involved for over a year now.”

 

“Which is why you asked to be removed from this case?” Drumm asked neutrally.

 

“That is correct.”

 

“And didn’t the defendant recently give you some… unexpected news? Something that could change your lives completely as well as have potential repercussions for your careers and reputations?”

 

For Burger, this admission would, without parallel, be the most difficult utterance of his entire life. Just the sheer willpower he had to summon just to say it knowing what a violation it was of their personal lives was staggering.  But he was determined not to shrink from it; not in front of Alexandra when she needed him to be strong and to see that he didn’t feel ashamed or humiliated by the unplanned pregnancy.

 

Burger regarded Drumm unflinchingly. “Yes, she did.”

 

“And would you please tell the court what that news was?”

 

Mason stood up. “Objection.  Mr. Burger’s personal life is not on trial here.”  Mason knew he wasn’t going to win that one since Drumm was using Burger to supply a possible motive, but Mason felt he was obligated to at least make the effort to object out of principle.  Drumm was pursuing a rather gross violation of privacy, albeit in the prosecutor’s eyes, a necessary one.

 

Drumm approached the bench. “Your honor, my line of questioning is intended to show a possible motive for the defendant.”

The aging judge nodded. “I’ll allow the question, but get to the point quickly, Mr. Drumm.”

 

The sharply dressed district attorney didn’t need to be prodded to answer the question. He knew the game and its rules only too well and how they were working against him in this case.

 

“Alexandra told me over dinner last Friday night that she is expecting my child,” Burger admitted

 

Drumm had to admit he was impressed. Burger hadn’t wilted, flinched, or otherwise indicated any shame or humiliation on his part even amidst the murmurs now filtering through the courtroom.  Surely having to answer those questions in such a public place and in the current situation had to feel like spitting out acid.  Burger noticed that Tragg was starting down at the table instead of looking up, probably feeling just as nauseated that everything was having to come out this way.

 

“And you didn’t tell anyone right away, did you? In fact, Lt. Tragg, someone who has worked with you closely for the last several years, learned that you were going to be a father from one of Ms. Mullen’s colleagues during the murder investigation.”

 

Burger’s eyebrows rose and his bright blue eyes flashed with anger and indignation. “If you’re insinuating that I was withholding the information from anyone out of shame or humiliation or even for nefarious purposes, you can go fish again.  Alexandra and I wanted to wait to inform friends and family after we’d made some decisions about our own futures first.”

 

Drumm pulled back a little, surprised by the emotion and conviction in Burger’s eyes. Drumm had expected to have an easier time provoking Burger to defensiveness, but it hadn’t happened.  Reluctantly, he nodded and looked up at the judge. 

 

“I have no further questions of this witness, your honor.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

The next witness on the stand was one of the other counselors that worked with Ruby Avery and Alexandra Mullen.

 

“Mrs. Powell, I only have a few questions for you,” Drumm said. “How did you and your colleagues come to find out about Ms. Mullen’s condition?”

 

Powell hesitated. She really did not want to be a part of this, but she was obligated to tell the truth, even if it did look bad for Alexandra.  Still, in no way did she believe Alexandra capable of something like this.

 

“Well…,” she started, hesitantly. “We basically had to pry the news out of her.  You see, we’ve all worked together in that building for several years now and I would say we know each other pretty well.  Ms. Mullen had been looking and feeling unwell almost daily for two or three weeks until finally Ruby and I stopped her and asked her if she was alright.  Knowing that she’d been in a longterm relationship, we’d had our suspicions as to the cause, but we had to outright ask her if that was the case before she’d say that it was true.”

 

Drumm raised an eyebrow. “So Ms. Mullen didn’t volunteer the information?”

 

“No, she didn’t.”

 

“And would that be considered unusual for her?”

 

Mrs. Powell pondered that for a moment. “Somewhat.  I mean, she didn’t give us every detail of her personal life, but I suppose it could be considered unusual that we had to make such a concerted effort to find out what was going on with her in this particular instance.”

 

Drumm considered that with a slight smirk. “Thank you, Mrs. Powell.  Your witness, Mr. Mason.”

 

Mason shook his head. “No questions.”

 

Drumm looked at Mason incredulously, wondering when the legendary criminal defense attorney was going to dig into a few of these witnesses. But Perry Mason always had a method to his madness.  Drumm couldn’t help but wonder if Mason had something waiting in the wings that he didn’t know about.  He couldn’t wait to see what it was.

 

Mason rose after being directed by the judge to call his next witness.

 

“I call Bobby Mackey to the stand.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

“Now Mr. Mackey,” Perry Mason began as he approached the stand. “We’ve all heard a previous witness testify that she saw and heard you become angry upon seeing the district attorney, Hamilton Burger arrive to visit Ms. Mullen just as you and Ms. Avery were finishing a session.  Is that true?”

 

The sandy blonde haired, green eyed young man nodded almost hesitantly. “Yes,” he said meekly.

 

“Why, Mr. Mackey?” Mason insisted.

 

Mackey exhaled in frustration. “He was the prosecutor in the case that sent my brother, Johnny to prison for life.  You’ll forgive me if he’s not on my list of favorite people.”

 

“Oh, that’s quite understandable,” Mason smirked slightly and turned away from the young man for a moment. “Perhaps you’d like to tell the court why my detective saw you snooping around the outside of the building the murder took place in a few days after the crime?”

 

Mackey’s light green eyes widened. He hadn’t realized he’d been seen and was starting to worry slightly as to what exactly this Perry Mason knew.

 

Mason simply continued to stare the young man down, hoping to intimidate him into confessing what he knew. The raven haired attorney was certain he knew how the murder happened or at least close enough to get the result he wanted.

 

“He must have been mistaken,” Mackey suggested weakly. “It wasn’t me.”

 

“Then who was it?!” Mason said sternly.

 

“How should I know?!” Mackey exclaimed, almost panicked.

 

Retreating to the table in front of the judge’s bench, Mason retrieved the little black address book that Drake had found by Alexandra’s office window.

 

“Is this what you were looking for? I remind you you’re under oath, Mr. Mackey.”

 

“Yes! Alright!  I was looking for that, but I didn’t kill Ms. Avery.”

 

Mason held up the address again. “And why were you looking for this.  It doesn’t belong to you.  It belongs to the defendant.  How did it come to be in your possession?”

 

Mackey sighed and looked down at the hands he was wringing miserably in his lap. “I stole it out of Alexandra’s office the night of the murder.”

 

Mason stared at Mackey, his blue eyes bore holes into the young man’s soul. “You saw that the secretary hadn’t locked the door behind her so you’d have easy access to the inside of the building.  But you weren’t counting on Ms. Avery to get up and check to see what the noise was in Ms. Mullen’s office, did you?”

 

Mackey shook his head. “No, I didn’t.  I figured whoever was still in the office would just assume one of her colleagues had returned and wouldn’t bother getting up.”

 

“So when Ms. Avery caught you, you knew you’d be in big trouble, especially since you’d told her earlier how much you despised Hamilton Burger and stealing escalated to murder. And even though murdering your counselor hadn’t been part of the plan initially, the situation played out even better for you, didn’t it?”

Mason returned the address book to the little table and turned back to Bobby Mackey. “What better way to get revenge on the district attorney than to frame his girlfriend for murder and have her sent to prison for life just like your older brother was?”

 

Mackey hung his head, but they all looked up when there was a shout from the back of the courtroom. The judge indicated for the bailiff to bring the young man forward.

 

Bobby’s older brother, Tim approached the bench and Mr. Mason. “Mr. Mason is correct, but I’m the one who killed Ms. Avery, not Bobby.  Bobby told me he’d seen Mr. Burger with Ms. Mullen, but he wasn’t involved in any of this other than looking for the address book.  Things weren’t supposed to get this out of hand.  I just wanted to make a little trouble for the district attorney; nothing on this scale though.”

 

The judge nodded to Lt. Tragg who approached Tim. “I’m afraid you’ll have to come with me, young man. 

 

Tim nodded weakly and went with Tragg as the judge called for the charges against the defendant to be dismissed.


	8. Gentle Nudges

The victory celebration gathered later that evening at Marchand’s. Mason arrived with Della and Drake in tow; and he tossed the envelope that Burger had given him a few days prior back at the district attorney.  Burger picked it up curiously and opened the little white envelope. 

 

“Perry?!” He exclaimed incredulously. “I don’t want this back.  You earned every penny of it.”

 

Smirking, Perry took out a cigarette and fired it up. “You, Hamilton, have someone more important to be saving your money for.  That said, you’re not getting out of buying dinner tonight.”

 

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Burger said sincerely. “Thank you, Perry.  I owe you everything this time.”

 

Alexandra had been quietly enjoying the company, having exhausted her inventory of enthusiastic thank yous after the judge had dismissed the charges. She was snuggled up against Burger with his arm around her and her head pillowed against his shoulder.  She still looked exhausted, but with a content smile on her full, pink lips.  Every so often, Burger would look down at her and plant a soft kiss on her forehead.  Happy, content Burger was a very different man than irascible, all business Burger.  Even Tragg looked like he couldn’t believe it was the same man he’d worked with for the last several years.

 

Mason caught Della glancing at the couple with a surprised, but wistful look in her hazel eyes and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze under the table. Perhaps sometime soon they would find themselves in a similar place in their relationship.  If Burger could lighten up like this then certainly Mason could.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

“So Della…,” Burger began as Perry Mason’s trusted secretary slung her purse over her shoulder. Tragg, Drake, and Mason had just departed.  It was uncharacteristically chilly out that winter day, for Los Angeles anyway and Mason had asked Della to wait until he’d brought the car around.

 

“Yes, Hamilton?” Della smiled in her characteristically warm way.

 

There really was no good way to phrase this, but the district attorney had noticed the chemistry and attraction between his opponent in court and Della and couldn’t understand why they appeared to fight it so hard.

 

“This is none of my business obviously, but uh, you and Perry would be good together, you know that, right?” He shifted uncomfortably, virtually certain he was about to be told off and he’d have well deserved it if she did.

 

The young brunette chuckled, slightly enjoying the older man’s discomfort. It was a personal question, but she didn’t feel annoyed or angry or offended.  Despite the gruff exterior, she knew that deep down Hamilton Burger was a caring, and probably sensitive, man.

 

“He and I have an excellent working relationship. A good friendship too.  Why risk ruining it?”  Della responded, sincerely.  As much as she often wondered what being in a relationship with Mason would be like, the fact of the matter was she worked for the man and enjoyed it.  She wasn’t prepared to quit just to be with him.  And if things didn’t work out between them… ruining the friendship scared her.

 

“A good friendship is half the foundation. And let me tell you something I’ve learned the hard way… regret is the worst.  I made mistakes when I was younger telling myself I was being mature by passing up opportunities to date girls I’d been friends with first.  Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I’d given them a chance.  I might have married and had a family much younger.  Work shouldn’t be everything, Della.  I used to think it was, but now…”

 

Della’s eyebrows lifted as she pondered his words. “But then you might not have Alexandra…,” she pointed out.

 

“You’re right about that. Still…give it some thought.  Eventually retirement comes and I don’t think anyone wants to be sitting in their house alone when that time comes.”

 

She smiled again and shrugged into her coat. “Alright, Hamilton.  I promise, though I can’t promise I’ll change my mind.”

W^^^W^^^W

 

The drive back to the office was quiet and Perry Mason pensive. Hamilton Burger’s newfound happiness had given Mason a lot to think about.  Mason’s own love life, and really any personal life at all, had been practically swallowed up whole thanks to his career that demanded long hours and personal sacrifice from him.  The raven haired attorney knew that Burger had been in a similar boat, but had finally found it in himself to step back from work a little more in the hopes of having a family one day.

 

For Mason, it wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in those things; it was that the woman he wanted, Della Street, had turned him down both times he’d asked before. Office romances were typically frowned upon, especially between boss and subordinate, but given the demanding hours his profession required of him and Della too, he felt a relationship with Della was reasonable.  They were together most of the time, already functioned as a well oiled team, and the attraction was there on both ends.  Courage to embrace it was the missing element.

 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Della asked softly.

 

Mason’s eyebrows lifted as he glanced at his companion in the passenger seat.

 

“Oh. Just thinking about Hamilton and how he’s managed to find time for a relationship.  I’m also wondering why you and I can’t do that,” he said meaningfully.  “A chance to make it work, Della.  That’s all I’m asking for.”

 

She was silent for a long moment, gazing out the window at the buildings, shops, and little mom and pop shop restaurants they passed. It was true that she and Mason would likely do very well together, but it was so unprofessional to have a love affair with one’s boss; and Della was nothing if not professional.  Still, she knew Mason would keep it hush as he possibly could and would never do anything to intentionally hurt her.  And the attraction between her and Mason had been noticed by even those who didn’t work in Mason’s office.  Burger was right though.  One’s career shouldn’t be one’s whole life.

 

“Alright, Perry. You win,” Della smiled.

 

She was rewarded with Mason’s warmest, happiest smile. Very different from the smug one she often saw as he enjoyed little and big victories solving murder cases.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

They had returned to the office for a short while to finish up some paperwork related to the Mullen case. It was Friday and neither Mason nor Della really wanted that looming still come Monday morning.  They preferred to have such tedious little details wrapped up before winding down for the weekend.

 

It was getting late so Mason didn’t worry much about being seen as he walked Della out to her car arm in arm. Actually he wasn’t worried much about being seen at all, but he knew that until she was more comfortable with their new office romance, he needed to respect her desire to keep things discreet.  Arriving at their destination, Mason opened the car door for her, but stopped her with an arm around her waist before she could lower herself into the driver’s seat.  The kiss was long and passionate with Mason making damned sure Della could never mistake how the defense attorney felt about her.

 

Coming up for air, Della found herself breathless as she and Mason gazed into each other’s eyes. Words were hardly necessary at that point, but Della finally found her voice long enough to invite Mason over to her place for dinner the following evening.  It would be Saturday and they’d have plenty of time together without the never ending onslaught of work pinning them down.

 

Mason could hardly wait and for the first time in a long time, he felt like he had something special to look forward to.


	9. Next Steps

The following day had been a busy one. Burger and his best friend from grade school, George had spent much of the day moving the rest of Alexandra’s belongings to Burger’s place and had finished not long before.  Alexandra had offered to help, but the two men, Burger in particular, wouldn’t have it and urged her to rest instead.  Letting them do all the work didn’t sit well with Alexandra, but Burger had insisted that she could help with the unpacking the next day and that he didn’t want her working herself into a miscarriage by moving things.  She’d argued that such a thing wasn’t likely to occur as long as she didn’t overdo it, but the petite woman acquiesced when her lover had turned his stern gaze on her.  She knew he was going to be stubborn about this; and she also knew that the longer the argued about it, the angrier he’d get over the lost and wasted time.

 

Reluctantly, she had retreated to the bedroom for a nap and awoke just in time to hear George leave. Remaining still, she heard Burger’s solid footsteps approach and the door creak open.  She felt the depression in the mattress as sat down next to her, reaching out to stroke her cheek gently before laying down himself and snuggling up against her.  He was the tired one now.  Alexandra turned her head to look at him and smiled tiredly.

 

Realizing she was awake, Burger smiled softly. “So I thought we’d have a private ceremony on the beach and then we’ll have dinner out with our friends afterwards.  Planning a big wedding would take longer than we have and most of our relatives would have to travel.  We can visit them after the baby is born.”

 

Alexandra chuckled. “Not satisfied just running down to the courthouse,” she teased.  “Seems to me that would be just the ticket for you.”

 

Burger shook his head. “That’s not the story I want to tell our children,” he said sincerely.  “Even if it won’t be the fairytale wedding you had in mind, I still don’t want to tell them we just ran down to the courthouse because we felt we had to.  I love you, Alex.  Our wedding doesn’t have to be a lifeless story if we don’t let it.”

 

“You’re right of course,” Alexandra murmured softly. Burger’s softer side could be rather romantic and sweet at times.  It was a side most people who knew him didn’t think he had.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Mason arrived at Della’s place a few minutes early. The big blue eyed defense lawyer bounded up the steps with an enthusiasm he hadn’t felt in a long time.  He wasn’t sure if it was his coaxing the night before or something or someone else that had spurred his longtime secretary to change her mind, but he was grateful to whatever or whoever had.

 

Della had answered the door promptly and looked almost shy and demure as she invited Mason in to her own dwelling. He had been there a few times, but not on social calls or for personal reasons.  Entering fully into the living room, Mason found himself staring perhaps a little too long at Della’s stunning transformation.  He was so used to seeing her dressed professionally at the office that it hadn’t really occurred to him what other treasures she might have lurking about in her closet that rarely saw the light of day given the long hours she put in at work.

 

She’d chosen a dressier, sleeveless tea length dress with a flowing skirt in a dark red color that complemented her ivory skin and dark brown hair to perfection. Mason’s large blue eyes widened appreciatively as he took in the breathtaking sight before him.

 

“Della, you look incredible,” Mason murmured when he finally found his voice again and he raised her tiny hand to his lips.

 

“You’re too kind, Perry,” Della blushed.

 

Mason gave her another good once over and his eyebrows lifted. “Oh no, Della… I’m quite sincere.”

 

She glanced away shyly. Della was somewhat used to the attention; after all, Paul Drake often called her “beautiful” and Tragg had been known to turn on the charm periodically.  Here, alone with Mason though she couldn’t make excuses about having to return to work in order to avoid others noticing how flustered she felt inside at the attention.

 

“Come on,” she smiled warmly. “Dinner is ready.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Dancing was something that Mason didn’t get to do often; again, owing to the fact that his work took up so much of his time. This time though, Mason didn’t think he could answer the call of duty if it rode up on horseback and tried to drag him out.  Swaying in each other’s arms, Mason was acutely aware of subtle, but attractive floral perfume that Della favored and he pulled her closer so he could bury his nose in her air.  Della chuckled low.

 

“You always did like my perfume, Perry.”

 

“I’ll testify to that…,” he murmured.

 

They pulled back from each other just enough to gaze longingly into each other’s eyes.

 

“Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for a night like this with you?”

 

“Too long?” Della guessed playfully.

 

“Too long,” Mason nodded, leaning in for the much anticipated first kiss of the evening. It was much like the one the night before at Della’s car; long, deep, and filled with a passion that Della hadn’t realized Mason possessed outside of his work.  Apparently, she still had much to learn about this amazing man she’d worked with for so long.

 

“Della…,” Mason murmured in between kisses. He was ready to go further, but wasn’t certain if she was.  “If you’re not ready…”

 

Della shushed him with a perfectly manicured finger to his lips. “Perry, hush.”  Taking his hand gently, she led him to the bedroom.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Burger was indeed tired; bone tired from moving Alexandra’s stuff in fact. He could feel the weariness settle into his bones like dead weight.  His girlfriend on the other hand had just woken up from a rather long nap.  She still looked like she could sleep more as the pregnancy was taking its toll on her.  Burger smirked slightly as a honey of an idea weaved its way through his thoughts.  As a prosecuting attorney, strategy played an important part in presenting his cases.  It could also be used, he noted with some amusement, to wear young Alexandra out again so they could nap together.

 

She was spooned against him on her right side revealing her neck and shoulder as tempting targets for his full lips. His strong left hand caressed her hip and internally, the district attorney savored the victory as he felt and heard her take a deep, shaky breath.  Kisses to her neck and shoulder did it every time. The knowledge had made him a menace in places like the car and the movie theatre. 

 

No one could have guess that straight laced, uptight Hamilton Burger couldn’t resist teasing his girlfriend in semi public places. Her neck was so easy to reach and it was rather thrilling to feel like a young man again.  The stocky man had to admit that she had found whatever wild and playful side he had and brought it out of him effortlessly.

 

He grinned mischievously as the hand on her hip was covered by her own much smaller hand and was guided slowly under her shirt and up her body to cup her breast. Pushing himself up on one arm, Burger touched Alexandra’s left shoulder and pushed gently to coax her to her back, but she raised a dark eyebrow at him and smirked.

 

“Not this time, Hamilton,” she murmured in his ear.  Her voice was low and husky with desire and Burger shivered in response.  He looked at her curiously, finally realizing her intent as she pressed her forearm gently to his torso and pushed him onto his back, straddling him.

 

“You’ve been working hard all day so this time you’re going to lay back and relax and let me do the work.”

 

Alexandra Mullen was driving this train tonight and Burger wouldn’t have had it any other way.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Perry Mason was savoring every slow, agonizing moment. It wasn’t that the handsome, deep voiced lawyer wasn’t finding it difficult to hold back now that his dusky hued secretary was now fully unclothed and in his eager arms in her bed that just a short while ago had been pristinely made.

 

It was nearly painful how much he ached to be inside her, but he had never been the type of lover who rushed things. And with Della, that was doubly true.  His strong, masculine hands and lips had explored almost every inch of her curves and were now resting at her waist as his lips left a trail of soft kisses down her neck, her chest, her belly.  The beautiful brunette whimpered breathlessly and rocked her hips slightly, betraying her impatience.

 

Mason chuckled and positioned himself over her. His blue eyes sought her hazel ones with a tenderness he hadn’t felt for anyone in quite some time.  He lowered his mouth to hers once again and Della’s hands came up to caress the sides of his face.  The first thrust was swift and deliberate and Mason groaned in spite of himself at the silken tightness of her depths.  He felt her hands all over his back, then running through the thick, course hair on his chest, and then in his raven black hair, mussing it.  Della’s whimpers became breathy moans and Mason knew that after all his earlier attentions, she was getting close and he picked up the pace.

 

With a cry, Della’s back arched as her climax crashed down on her. The sudden clenching of her walls around him energized him and his thrusts quickened.  With a deep grunt, he erupted inside of her, savoring the sweet release.   He was shaking with the exertion and Della coaxed him to relax against her, which he reluctantly did for a few long moments before moving to lay down beside her.

 

They were quiet for a moment, both basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

Della was the first to break the silence with a smirk.

 

“If you dare crack any jokes about needing a cigarette…”

 

Mason’s innocent look was the only response she got.


	10. Mornings

Hamilton Burger was not a man who slept in often and when he did, his definition of sleeping in was maybe until 7:30 or 8:00. Alexandra however, defined sleeping in as “whenever she rolled out of bed.”  His stomach was growling incessantly though and refused to be ignored as he hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before.  They had napped in the late afternoon and slept through dinner time.  Waking up about 9:00 pm, Burger had wandered into the kitchen for a light snack and dropped himself on the couch with some reading material for his next case.  Eventually he’d returned to the bed he now shared with Alexandra.  She had stayed the night many times before over the course of their relationship, but it was still going to take the hapless district attorney some time to fully get used to sharing the bed with someone who tossed and turned so much during the night.  One time she’d even accidentally belted him in the mouth turning over.

 

As he sat up in bed he glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. 7:00 am.  Next to him, he could hear Alexandra breathing softly, obviously still asleep.  His eyebrows furrowed in concern.  She’d practically slept the last 18 hours or so.  Of course he knew that she’d just come out of a traumatic and stressful situation with Ruby’s death and the subsequent trial.  And then there was the pregnancy.  Still, she’d slept a lot the last day and it worried Burger.  He knew as surely as he knew the sun rose in the east that she’d insist she was fine if he asked her to see a doctor, but he was going to insist all the same.  It would put his mind at ease to know there was nothing wrong with Alexandra or the baby.

 

Padding into the kitchen, the district attorney contemplated breakfast and decided on pancakes. Perhaps the smell would rouse sleeping beauty from her day long nap.

 

To his relief, Alexandra did wander into the kitchen a short while later and wrapped her arms around his waist, looking over his shoulder to watch him.

 

“Well, this clinches it,” she chuckled sleepily. “I’ll definitely have to marry you now.”

 

Chuckling as well, Burger turned his head and gave her a quick hello kiss before flipping the first batch of pancakes.

 

“I’ll set the table then,” Alexandra smiled warmly. She put the coffee on first and then set about locating the appropriate dishes.

 

Burger found himself unable to look away from her. It hadn’t really felt real and solid before, but now as he watched the events of the morning unfold it was finally starting to hit home that they were a family now.  He no longer had to come home to an empty apartment.  Alexandra would always be there now; and soon their son or daughter as well.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Della was also an early riser and without realizing it, her plan for the morning was running somewhat parallel to Hamilton Burger’s in another part of town. The pretty brunette was aware that Mason rarely slept in though he’d mentioned before that he would love to do so more often.

 

She left the warm sanctuary of the bed to shower and dress quickly, then quietly snuck off to the kitchen to put coffee on. Coffee was practically guaranteed to get the legendary defense attorney up and rolling.  Reaching a decision about breakfast was another proposition altogether.  Della usually kept breakfast light for herself, but she knew that Mason could really dig in first thing in the morning.  With that in mind, she decided she’d rather go out to breakfast than prepare something she wasn’t hungry for.  Returning to the bedroom she applied some light makeup and did her hair.  Fortunately, her hair was rather short and dried quickly.

 

She was in the middle of touching up her lipstick when she heard movement to her left and she smiled warmly when she caught Mason rolled over on his left side and gazing at her warmly, just watching her contentedly.

 

“Well good morning, sleepyhead,” she teased. “Coffee’s on in the kitchen.  I thought we’d go out for breakfast if that’s okay.”

 

“Sounds perfect,” he said, rolling out of bed. He was perfectly aware morning breath was horrid so he settled for simply wrapping his arms around Della’s slender waist and kissing her cheek.

 

Relaxing against Mason for a long moment, Della let out a deep, happy sigh and wished they could just remain that way for the rest of the day. Finally she summoned the willpower to extract herself from his arms so they could get out to breakfast.

 

“I’ll go clean up last night’s dishes while you shower and get dressed and then we’ll decide where we’re going for breakfast.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

“Alright, everything is in order,” Burger said as he hung up the phone he’d been on for the better part of the afternoon. They’d settled on the coming Saturday for their wedding with reservations for a small group of friends at one of the more upscale restaurants in the area for later in the evening.  On Sunday, he and Alexandra would fly out to Hawaii for a week.  Fortunately, Burger hadn’t had much trouble getting the time off and he was looking forward to it.  It had been some time since he’d allowed himself even a mini vacation.  Let Drumm lose to Perry Mason for a change.

“You certainly are a man on a mission today,” Alexandra chuckled. She still couldn’t get over how different he looked just hanging around the house in a tshirt and jeans.  She had been so used to seeing him in suits after work.  She knew she was probably in the minority and that she’d probably never be able to convince him, but Alexandra found the district attorney physically attractive.  She supposed it was more the way he carried himself.  Still so confident and resilient no matter how many times he’d lost to Mason in the courtroom.

 

“I would never have suspected it was possible to accomplish so much on a phone on a weekend as you just have.”

 

Grinning smugly, Burger pulled Alexandra to his lap and hugged her tight. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, babe.  And when we get back from Hawaii, you’re gonna have to change your name on that shingle of yours.”

 

“You’re awfully proud of that,” the young counselor remarked with amusement before changing the subject. “I have a surprise for you, but it won’t be until later today that you’ll get to see it.”

 

“Going lingerie shopping?” He said hopefully, though she could tell he was teasing her slightly. The comment earned him a playful swat on the arm.  Fortunately, Alexandra wasn’t super prudish and didn’t mind the good natured juvenile humor once in a while.

 

“I’ll be back in a few hours, love.”


	11. Almost Time

Burger did a double take when Alexandra returned home later that afternoon. The surprise had turned out to be the new haircut and color she’d obviously indulged herself.  Early on in their relationship, the district attorney had admitted a preference for brunette; and Alexandra had coughed up the secret that she was in fact a “bottle blonde.”  As her fiancé had often expressed interest in seeing her natural hair color, Alexandra had decided to indulge him in time for their wedding as a wedding present.

 

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Burger smiled in surprise as he took in the gorgeous light ash brown color. “You look incredible.”

 

She smiled somewhat self consciously. “Light ash brown; it’s my natural color.  I thought you might like it for the wedding.”

 

“I like it permanently, Alex. You’re stunning.”  He still couldn’t tear his eyes away from her and he couldn’t wait to see her on Saturday for their ceremony on the beach.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Burger and Alexandra settled into their married lives easily over the next several months. Most of the time she beat the district attorney home, but not always.  It really depended on the status of her client notes.  She had decided to keep the brown hair to her husband’s pleasure.

 

It was now early October and the baby was due within the next few weeks. Just the ring of the telephone or anyone entering his office or interrupting court the last few weeks threatened to give Burger a heart attack so great was his anticipation and nervousness that any minute now he’d learn his first child was coming.  Fathers weren’t even allowed to be with their wives when they gave birth so Burger wasn’t even sure why he felt so jumpy about hearing when she was in labor.  He realized to some extent there was some fear that something would happen to either or both of them.  Even Mason had noticed how jumpy his opponent in court had become.  Burger had grumbled back that he could hardly wait for the baby to arrive so he could stop anticipating that one phone call.

 

Mason tried hard to resist the urge to prank the hapless district attorney the next time he got a phone call in Burger’s presence. Della would no doubt tell him that such a prank wasn’t nice.

 

W^^^W^^W

 

Having just finished her client notes, Alexandra locked up her file cabinets and grabbed her purse. Checking to make sure she had everything, she locked the building behind her being the last one to leave and waddled out to her car.  The baby had been rather active lately which surprised her this late in pregnancy.  The kicks had often become uncomfortable and sometimes even painful if they struck just the right tender spots.  The young woman swore she had a future football player tumbling around in there and she caressed her middle lovingly.

 

The drive home would take a little while, traffic depending. It was Los Angeles though so one could almost always count on traffic at this hour.  Any hour really.  It was for that reason that Alexandra preferred to take a slightly longer, but less densely populated route home.  On the passenger’s side there were tall trees and no buildings.  A small lake was somewhere hidden behind the trees.  The driver’s side was a different story though with some homes and some businesses, including a little hideout that she knew Paul Drake spent time in occasionally.  She and Ruby had gone in there periodically before Alexandra had met Burger and they had seen Drake in there more than a few times.

 

She had the green light at the small, deserted intersection ahead and was just about to pass through it when she caught unexpected movement out of the corner of her eye. The other car was on her so fast she had no time to react save for a gasp of shock and fear.  The next thing Alexandra knew was darkness.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

The crash had been loud enough to be heard inside the bar and it wasn’t long before a crowd had gathered to see what had caused the loud noise. Paul Drake had actually been enjoying the rare evening uninterrupted (so far) by an eleventh hour favor for friend and colleague Perry Mason and he charged outside immediately to see what had happened.  Confirming that it was what it sounded like, Drake stuck his head back inside and yelled for the bartender to call for an ambulance and the police.

 

Jogging out to the corner, Drake looked to make sure the coast was clear before approaching the wreck. If anyone was alive, moving them wasn’t a good idea since he wasn’t a trained medical professional.  At the moment, it didn’t look like anything was about to catch fire so Drake simply wanted to see if the vehicles’ occupants were at least alive and who they were while he waited for the ambulance to arrive.

 

He discovered the driver of the first vehicle he inspected to be dead, but whether that was the result of the crash or from some other cause he couldn’t say. The crash wasn’t exactly a mild fender bender, but from the angle that it looked as if this car impacted with the other, Drake found it difficult to believe the driver would have died from the impact.

 

The private investigator sighed in confusion and resignation. Even after working with Mason for years, Drake still found he couldn’t quite used to finding dead bodies.  There would be time for speculation later though and Drake moved quickly to the second car.  He couldn’t get the driver’s side door open so he jogged around to the passenger’s side, hoping that the door was unlocked.

 

Mercifully it was and the tall man yanked the door open and hunched down to look at the driver. His blood ran ice cold in shock and his breath caught in his throat.

 

“Oh my god… Alexandra…”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Still trying to process the surreal image in front of him, Drake had to will himself out of shock long enough to move his hand to check for her pulse. He didn’t really need to as he could see the rise and fall of her chest.  She must have hit her head on the driver’s side window because she was out cold.

 

Drake was about to run across the street to try and call Burger when Alexandra stirred. Her face grimaced in pain as she opened her aqua blue eyes.  It took her a moment to focus on Mason’s private investigator.

 

“Paul…,” she croaked. “What happened?”

 

“You were in a car accident. And as much as I’d love to ask you how it happened, I think it would be best if you remained quiet and still for right now.  An ambulance is on its way.”

 

“Hamilton…?” 

 

Drake shook his head. “Doesn’t know yet.  I was just about to find a phone when you came around.  I’m going to do that now.  Do you think you can stay still for a few more minutes?”

 

Alexandra nodded weakly.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Drake returned after about five minutes which had felt like an eternity to both him and Alexandra. Burger had left his office for a few minutes and it had taken some time for his secretary to hunt him down.

 

He found Alexandra breathing through what had to be contractions and the sight did nothing to stall his feelings of near panic. Normally Drake was a very calm man, but this time a friend’s wife was involved and his heart hurt for Burger.  He could only imagine what that poor man had to be going through.  Drake had even suggested that he have Tragg drive him so Burger didn’t accidentally kill himself in the rush over.

 

Alexandra let her head fall to the side to face Drake as the contraction subsided.

 

“Apparently my water broke at some point after the crash. This baby is coming,” she said, trying not to sound fearful.


	12. Deliveries

Drake wasn’t a father yet, but even he knew that it almost always took hours to have a baby so he was rather shocked when Alexandra felt the urge to bear down with the next contraction. He shrugged off his shock as best he could and shrugged off his jacket just in case the baby arrived before the ambulance did; an ambulance that the private investigator was looking more and more anxious to see.  Drake knew that in emergencies the passage of time often seemed distorted and less time had probably passed than it seemed like.  Still, Drake was certain that the ambulance should be there any minute now.  After this ordeal was over, he was looking forward to learning from a medical professional if traumatic events like a car accident could hasten labor like this or if it was just his lucky day.

 

“Hamilton owes me one forever…,” Drake said jokingly, hoping to lighten the mood and was rewarded with Alexandra’s painful chuckle.

 

Drake wasn’t enthused about trying to move Alexandra, but with the baby racing the ambulance he felt he had no choice but to turn her so she could lean against the driver’s side door and he could catch the baby.

 

Relaxing after another long, hard push, Alexandra chuckled again. “I should be out cold in labor and delivery for this part…”

 

“Maybe that’s not so bad,” Drake offered. “At the very least it will make a great story later on.”

 

In the distance, Drake could finally hear sirens and breathed a sigh of relief. He nearly had the baby delivered though.  One or two more hard pushes and he’d have the shoulders.  He wasn’t looking forward to how this was going to ruin his good jacket, but it wasn’t as if he didn’t have the money to replace it and keeping the baby warm was more important.

 

Alexandra bore down hard again and the shoulders emerged. Gently pulling the baby out the rest of the way, Drake wrapped the newborn in his jacket and grinned happily.

 

“It’s a girl!” He said cheerfully and gently transferred the wailing baby to her mother.  Alexandra took the baby girl with joyful tears in her eyes.

 

“Thanks, Paul. I couldn’t have done it without you,” Alexandra smiled at him tiredly.

 

As the ambulance pulled up, Drake flagged down the two paramedics and gave them the lowdown. They took over triaging mother and baby and Paul stepped back to give them room and so he could keep an eye out for Hamilton Burger and Lt. Arthur Tragg.  He didn’t have to wait long.  Burger was practically out of the car before Tragg could come to a complete stop, bolting for the paramedics. 

 

Drake caught him, attempting to calm the excited prosecutor down. The paramedics needed time to work.

 

“What the hell happened here, Paul?!”

 

“Well, I can’t be certain yet because I haven’t had time to look the scene over much, but it looks like the guy in the other car ran a red and nailed Alexandra on the way. Not sure why the driver ran the red, but he was dead when I found him.  Alexandra is fine, Hamilton.  And so is your daughter.”

 

“My daug--?”

 

Burger looked confused for a moment and his blue eyes widened to the size of saucers as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

 

“Alexandra had the baby?! In that wreck?!”  He exclaimed.

 

“They’re both fine, Hamilton.  Try to relax.  Come on, let’s go see if the paramedics will let you go with them to the hospital.”

 

Burger and Drake joined Lt. Tragg who was cooing at the baby just as the paramedics were about to put Alexandra in the ambulance. Catching sight of Alexandra, Burger rushed to her side.

 

“Alexandra, are you okay? Paul scared me half to death when he told me you’d been in an accident.”

 

His wife smiled weakly, but warmly at him. “I’m fine.  I think.  Just exhausted now from all the stress and of course from…”  She turned her head to indicate the baby.

 

“She’s so beautiful, Hamilton.  Go on, I’m fine.  Go see her.”

 

Tragg, realizing that the ambulance was about ready to take the little family back to the hospital, gently transferred the baby to Burger’s arms.

 

“Someone looks like her daddy,” Tragg joked smugly. “Just like I thought she was going to.  You can go with Alexandra they said, so uh, don’t keep them waiting.”

 

Stepping up into the ambulance, Burger gazed at his daughter with a look of awe and pure joy and held her close. Tragg was right.  The poor kid did look quite a bit like him.

 

“Wait, is this Paul’s jacket?” Burger said curiously as he noticed what his new baby daughter was swaddled in.  He looked up at Drake and noticed he was indeed minus his jacket.

 

Alexandra chuckled. “It is.  Paul delivered the baby, dear.  He jokingly said you’d owe him forever.”

 

“Him and Mason now,” Burger chuckled as he waved to Paul and Tragg. “Thanks a million, Paul.  I’ll give everyone a call once we’re situated at the hospital unless you guys want to follow us up there.”

 


	13. Sugar and Spice

After an autopsy of the dead driver had been performed it had been determined that he had suffered a heart attack just prior to the crash. That knowledge had taken all the fire out of Burger’s initial fury at the situation.  When the district attorney had first heard what had happened his cynical mind had seized upon more sinister explanations such as drunk driving or something along those lines.  Learning that someone had lost their life due to a health condition was always a sad thing and Burger felt nothing but sympathy for that man’s family.

 

Alexandra and their baby girl remained in the hospital for nearly a week. Prior to the accident Burger and his wife had settled upon Helen for the first name if the baby was a girl.  They’d still been up in the air about the middle name, but had been leaning toward Rose.  Drake had saved the day though so the new parents felt it only fair to find a name with the first initial P as a nod to the friend that had delivered young Helen.

 

“I’m not too fond of the name Paula,” Alexandra said thoughtfully as they gazed at Helen. The baby definitely looked like a Helen.  Now they had to find a P name that she looked like too. 

 

“Patricia is a little common,” Burger said thoughtfully. “Something no one else is using right now… Paige?”

 

Turning it over in her mind a bit, Alexandra smiled after a moment and nodded in agreement. “A little French, but I like it.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Perry Mason arrived at his office that Monday morning about a week later. He stopped short as he heard a baby’s soft coo from Della’s office just adjacent to his and he peeked in and feigned a worried look.

 

“Something you want to tell me, Della?” He teased, finally cracking a smile. The sharply dressed lawyer had to admit though that his secretary and current love looked quite beautiful with a baby in her arms; and for a moment he envied his courtroom opponent the domestic life he was enjoying now.  He couldn’t help but imagine for a moment that Della and the baby were his.  Perhaps Mason would have to have a talk Burger and find out if the prosecutor recommended it.

 

The stunning brunette gave him a withering look, but her hazel eyes held humor so Mason knew she was simply teasing him.

 

“I think you would have been able to tell by now if I’d been stowing away one of these,” she said as she adjusted the baby in her arms and cuddled her close. “I asked Alexandra if she’d bring little Helen by so we could meet her.  Would you like to hold her?”

 

Mason looked uncertain. Part of him wanted to, but he didn’t have a great deal of experience with babies.  He acquiesced with a shy smile when Della held baby Helen out encouragingly.  Mason swayed gently on his feet as most people often did unconsciously when holding a baby and he gazed at the little newborn with curiosity and a softness in his expression that Della hadn’t seen before.

 

“She looks like Hamilton,” Mason noted.  He looked over at Della when she chuckled.

 

“That’s what everyone has said. Tragg *keeps* saying it.”

 

Looking back at the baby, Mason cocked his head, indicating for his secretary to come take a second look. She gazed over Mason’s broad shoulder and tried to see what Mason and everyone else saw.

 

“See?” Mason said. “Look at that stern expression.  She looks like any minute now she’ll object to something.”

 

Della laughed and gave her love a quick peck on the cheek. “Well, Hamilton has certainly looked less stern since little Helen showed up.  She is the apple of his eye now I’d have to say.”

 

“That bad I take it?”

 

“That bad. Hamilton probably already owns stock in shotguns just waiting for Helen to start dating,” Della smirked with amusement.  “And they’ll be back for her shortly.  They went to have breakfast since I’d offered to sit for a few hours.”

 

 A knock at the back door surprised the both of them and they both glanced at the door curiously.  Mason wasn’t expecting anyone at the moment, but the knock had Paul’s unique signature.

 

“Come in, Paul,” Mason called as loudly as he could without (hopefully) waking up the baby.

 

“Hiya, Perry. Della.”

 

Entering Mason’s office fully, Paul caught sight of Mason holding little Helen and his grin widened as he held out his arms for the baby. “There’s my girl!”

 

Mason handed the baby over with a mock puzzled expression on his handsome face. “I thought she was Hamilton’s…”

 

“You know what I mean,” Drake responded. “Do you mind if I run down to the coffee shop with her for a few minutes. Hamilton said he took her out shopping with him without Alexandra a few days ago and apparently babies are magnets for women.  If Hamilton can get that much attention, I’m sure I can.”

 

Mason and Della shared an amused look. “Alright, Paul,” Mason said.  “But don’t keep her too long.  Her parents are supposed to be returning for little Helen after they’ve finished breakfast.”

 

“Back in a flash!” Drake grinned, sneaking back out the back way.

 

“I wonder if Hamilton and Alexandra will ever get their baby back,” Della quipped.


End file.
